Dell Launches Inspiron 11z - I am seriously thinking about buying one of these. I want a thin and light notebook for use as a secondary laptop, but the 10 inch screen on typical netbooks is too small for me. With a larger, hi-def screen, and more powerful processor, this model may just fit the bill.

Two great articles on Facebook's employee stock buyback program: Why 'Joe Facebook' wants to cash out and The Mercenaries in Facebook's Midst - Both have excellent points, but I have to side with Caroline McCarthy on this one. I'm sure there are tons of people who wish they had diversified their holdings when they had the opportunity to during the dot-com boom/bust and before the latest economic downturn.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Google Woos Business Users With Billboard Ad Campaign: An editorial on the Motley Foolcalled the strategy "just dumb", "worst idea yet", and "downright nonsensical". I definitely wouldn't go that far. I think the move makes sense, it makes Google Apps seem more mainstream and recognizable, which is necessary for it to gain adoption in businesses and large enterprises while competing against Microsoft. Anyway, all the press and buzz about the irony of the ad campaign has probably already gotten more attention than the actual billboard ads themselves.

Twitter

Twitter had two outages due to denial-of-service attacks

ESPN, NFL And U.S. Marines Crack Down On Twitter Use: Seems like an overreaction to me, but as with any new technology it takes some adjustments and getting used to. I think it should be treated like any other communication tool. Obviously if you are bashing your boss/team/company, they won't be happy about it, regardless of whether if it's on Twitter, Facebook, a blog, a web site, on a phone call, or in a public place. Likewise, discretion and professionalism should be used when discussing any rumors or potentially confidential/sensitive information.

Or as Conan O'Brien called it on the Tonight Show, "FaceBox": I thought this episode was hilarious!

Facebook Acquires FriendFeed: Admittedly, I never did sign up and use it, but I always had a good impression of FriendFeed. I saw co-founder Paul Buchheit speak at Startup School a couple years ago, and I liked his talk. From what I saw the product looked like it had really good features, a clean design, and a usable interface. Part of me wishes they had gone farther before being acquired.

GM Claims Chevrolet Volt Will Get 230 MPG: Many others have already questioned/criticized the MPG claim, google it if you want full details. Basically the 230 number is not particularly meaningful because actual gas usage will depend entirely on the usage pattern and how much the electric power can be utilized (i.e. short trips with recharging in between vs. long trips).

Tesla turns profit in July for the first time: I think that is great news. This is impressive with the current state of the economy, considering they have only been selling the high-end roadster, while the less expensive sedan is still under development.

VMware To Buy SpringSource For $362 Million: I remember when Spring started as an open source framework, before SpringSource the company. I'm glad - I don't know what kind of revenue they generated, but it seems like a strong valuation, especially for an open source company.